The Scoundrel of Go
by Hawk
Summary: AU. Hikaru already knows Go when he first comes across Sai. How will this change things, as we delve into the Hikaru no Go world, Hawk-style? Come on in and find out...
1. One

Hikaru no Go - The Scoundrel of Go 

The Scoundrel of GoPG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson  
  


Summary: AU. Hikaru already knows Go when he first comes across Sai. How will this change things, as we delve into the Hikaru no Go world, Hawk-style? Come on in and find out...  
  
Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go, Hikaru, Sai and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. I could use the money! The story is mine though, all mine.  
  
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as , more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above.  
  
"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV  
  


* * *

  
  


Chapter One:

  
  
"Crummy old board." Hikaru groused, staring down at the two now separate pieces of a once-foldable Goban. It was now once foldable, because both hinges had come off by now. One had come off almost two months earlier, but since one was still good, he'd kept using the old board. The wood was cracked underneath both hinges, so it would be hard to fix it and with his pitiful allowance and extensive Ramen consumption, he wasn't going to be able to afford to buy a replacement.  
  
He sighed and picked up the two pieces, thinking back on the games he'd played on that board, the games he'd recreated on that board and he even somewhat fondly recalled his tutoring games with Akari. He supposed it was sort of an odd hobby for a kid his age and he couldn't even claim to be really fond of the game itself, but he kept up none the less.  
  
For the money.  
  
It was his grandfather who had taught him how to play and first enticed him to play by offering up small amounts of candy if he managed to win. As he grew older, the candy treats changed to money. His grandfather still slaughtered him if they played an even game, but about three months ago, he had managed to win his first game with only a three-stone handicap.  
  
Hikaru looked at the Goban again, pondering matters. He needed to practice to get better, to practice he needed a Goban. He could not afford a new Goban. Neither of his parents were likely to buy him one and his birthday was still a ways off.  
  
Hikaru blinked.  
  
His grandfather had supplied the original Goban, perhaps the old geezer would be willing to dig into his wallet again and buy a new board?  
  
Deciding that it was better to take action straightaway, Hikaru got up, walked downstairs and got his jacket.  
  
"Mom? I'm heading over to grandpa for a while." he called out, then strode out as his mothers just barely audible 'Dinner is at six. Do not be late.' echoed through the house from the laundry room. "Yeah-yeah-yeah..." Hikaru grunted as he dashed outside.  
  
"Hikaru!" Akari gasped, having had to take several steps back to avoid being smacked by the door and then barreled over by Hikaru storming out.  
  
"Akari. What are you doing here?" Hikaru inquired, coming to a stop as the door closed behind him.  
  
"Just thought I'd visit." she replied, suddenly sprouting a faint blush for some odd reason. Girls were weird, no doubt about that. "Are you going somewhere?"  
  
"My Goban finally fell apart. I was just going over to grandfather to see if he'd give me a new one." Hikaru replied and for once noticed the wistful look on his friends face. "You want to tag along?" he offered after a moments hesitation and careful deliberation.  
  
Girls could be a pain, but grandfather was fond of Akari and overjoyed that Hikaru was teaching her Go. Having her along would be a big advantage when asking the old geezer to open up his wallet.  
  
"Sure!" she exclaimed, happy to have been asked and overjoyed at the prospect of doing something with Hikaru other then spend the afternoon cooped up in his room, playing video games, reading boys manga or facing each other across the Goban. Neither activity was in itself very pleasing to Akari, but that was balanced out by the fact that she got to spend time one-on-one with Hikaru.  
  
Unfortunately, it turned out that neither his grandfather nor grandmother was home.  
  
Hikaru sighed, then his gaze traveled towards the attic where his grandfather kept all his old stuff. He smiled. Some of that crap might actually be worth something and what grandfather didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. In fact, considering how much stuff was up there, Hikaru would practically be doing him a favor by getting rid of some unnecessary things!  
  
But after rummaging through the storage, he found something even better. It turned out that the old fart had a Goban, a real one, with legs, in the attic. It was a bit dusty, but looked to be in good shape. Hikaru carefully tapped the side of it and nodded to himself, it gave off a nice sound. He was certainly no expert, but it seemed to be a fine board. Much better then his old foldable piece of crap.  
  
"Ne, Akari. Got a hankie I could borrow?" he asked and she hesitantly handed one to him. He looked at it and gave a mental shrug at the impracticality of the female mind. The thin lacy embroidered thing she handed to him wouldn't contain a decently sized booger. Heck, it'd probably tear from a good sneeze. He shrugged and put his left arm down on the board, then wiped the worst off with the sleeve of his jacket, then used the hankie for the delicate work. "What's with this stain?" he grunted, scrubbing at a particularly difficult spot.  
  
That stain must be why it was up here, instead of in the house.  
  
Hikaru didn't mind much though, it would work well enough for his purposes. All he needed was something for practice games, replaying games and tutoring Akari.  
  
"What stain?" Akari inquired, leaning forward over the board. "It looks fine to me." she shrugged.  
  
"This one." Hikaru announced, pointing it out to the blind girl.  
  
"I can't see any stain." she protested. "It's clean."  
  
"Stupid girl." Hikaru muttered under his breath. "Here, it looks like blood. As if someone bled all over this thing."  
  
"Where?" Akari asked again, more curious, but also a bit apprehensive at the mention of blood.  
  
"Here." Hikaru announced, putting a finger right on the biggest spot.  
  
"... Where?" Akari asked again, a befuddled look on her face.  
  
"I said here!" Hikaru repeated, stabbing his finger down on the board for emphasis.  
  
/Can you see it?/  
  
"That's what I've been saying..." Hikaru tiredly responded.  
  
/Can you hear my voice?/  
  
"Huh?" Hikaru inquired, looking up at Akari as if she were crazy. But she appeared transfixed by the board, staring intently at it.  
  
/You can hear my voice, can't you?/ came a question and Hikaru only now realized that it wasn't Akari who had been talking, as her lips didn't move.  
  
"I don't see it..." she mumbled.  
  
"Akari, someone's here..." Hikaru said, his eyes darting all over the room. "Who is it? Old man? Come out!" he demanded.  
  
"Stop it! Stop saying weird things. You're scaring me! I'm leaving, Hikaru." Akari exclaimed, then darted away, casting fearful glances at all sides.  
  
/You can... You can!/ the voice announced, startling Hikaru who couldn't find any sign of whomever it was who spoke. He didn't recognize the voice either. It certainly didn't sound like grandfather and definitively not like grandmother. /Kami, I thank you!/ it continued, then Hikaru gasped as a pale spectre appeared in front of him.  
  
"Aaaaaah!!!" he shrieked, falling backwards with a terrified look on his face, eyes bulging as he stared up at the ghostly image in front of him.  
  
/I will now return... Return to the living world./ the ghost announced, a statement which caused Hikarus eyes to roll over in their sockets, before he slumped to the floor.  
  
"Hikaru? What's wrong, Hikaru? Ah!" Akari called out, nervous and scared. "Hikaru's fainted! Someone! Hikaru needs help!" she called out, after having seen what happened to Hikaru.  
  
And that was how it started. That was how Shindo Hikaru, the young scoundrel of Go, met up with Fujiwara Sai, the ancient Ghost of Go.  
  


* * *

  
  
Hikaru sighed as he finally stumbled into his room and put the Goban down. Going to the hospital, his grandfather berating him, his mother berating him, his father berating him, Akari berating him... All in all, it hadn't been a good day for Shindo Hikaru with all that berating going on.  
  
He glared at the Goban. Grandfather had been very reluctant, but had eventually been persuaded to loan his 'ancient treasure' to Hikaru. While it was a step up from his old foldable Goban, it was one heavy piece of shit and it took up a lot of room. The old one could be kept in a drawer when he didn't use it, which was most of the time.  
  
He sighed again, well, considering how much berating he had to endure for the bulky thing, he guessed he owed it to himself to get plenty use out of it. In fact, he'd start right now with the game he had been about to recreate when the foldable one broke down. He walked over to his desk and got the magnetic 'stones' from his old board. Grandpa apparently still used the ones that had come with this Goban and didn't have any to spare, so the old ones would have to do.  
  
He sat down at the Goban and picked up a three week old issue of Weekly Go from the floor where he had thrown it earlier, then flipped to a couple of interesting-looking Kifu. While his grasp on the basics was good, some of the deeper aspects of the game still eluded him which the Kifu was a great help with. But his grandfather was impressed at the rate he was improving, apparently he had some sort of knack for the game and was lyrical about how much time Hikaru must be spending studying the game.  
  
Hikaru smiled.  
  
He wondered what grandpa would say if he knew that he only rarely spent more then an hour at a time studying Go and that only once or twice a week. Perhaps two hours more, if one counted tutoring Akari. He returned his attention to the Kifu, slowly playing out the game, studying the board as the game progressed.  
  
/You play Go?/  
  
/Oh no./ Hikaru thought, as he heard the odd voice again. /No, no, no, no, no.../ he repeated in a mental chant, slowly raising his eyes from the magazine. In front of him was a pair of feet, above them, odd clothing. He tilted his head back and came eye-to-eye with the Ghost he'd seen in the cluttered storage.  
  
/Interesting./ the Ghost commented, studying the Goban intently. /It would seem as if the game has gone through quite a few changes since I last had the opportunity to play. When did they decide to make the stones smaller and flatter, like these?/ he asked, pointing out the small magnets that Hikaru was playing with.  
  
"Who are you? What are you?" Hikaru croaked, shivering and trembling as he slowly backed away from the Ghost.  
  
/I am Fujiwara Sai./ the Ghost introduced itself with a courtly bow.  
  
"You're... Not what I expected... From a Ghost." Hikaru ventured.  
  
/I am what I am./ Sai stated with a faint dismissive gesture. /Now, who are you?/  
  
"Shindo... Shindo Hikaru." Hikaru replied.  
  
/I am pleased to have met with you, Shindo-kun./ the Ghost assured him, then couldn't contain it's eagerness any longer and returned it's attention to the Goban, studying the shape with a deadly intensity. /Neh, Shindo-kun? Tell me, how will this play out next? You were playing from a Kifu inside this colorful flat scroll, right?/  
  
"Colorful fla... Ah, the magazine? Yes, yeah, I was. It is a Kifu from a game between the Meijin and the Kisei a month ago." Hikaru slowly replied. "You play Go?" he inquired, repeating the Ghosts question from earlier.  
  
/Yes!/ Sai empathetically agreed. /I taught Go in the Heian Imperial Court, when I was alive. I also met someone else like you, someone who could see me. I played many wonderful games then./ he revealed. /Neh, Hiiikaruuu. The game? How does it play out?/ Sai inquired, futilely trying to turn the magazine over, only to have his fingers pass right through it.  
  
"Well..." Hikaru said, scratched his head, then returned to his seat. No matter how insane he must be for having a conversation with an imaginary Go player that must be some sort of result of bumping his head hard against a floor or something, he was rather curious himself at how the game would play out. With any luck, the hallucination would be gone by the time the game was over. He picked the magazine up and kept on recreating the game, under Sai's watchful eyes.  
  
Much to his surprise, Sai provided insightful commentary and he found himself nodding. Much of what Sai said made sense, he also pointed out a few moves that hadn't been played, but which Shindo thought looked promising, even if he lacked the ability to look ahead far enough to tell if they would have been better then what was played or not. But it was enough to let him know that Sai was good, very good.  
  
Better then he himself was, certainly. Which made him suspect that perhaps this wasn't some sort of figment of his imagination. Perhaps it really was a ghost!  
  
Once the final stone was placed onto the board and Hikaru declared that this was where the Kisei had surrendered, Sai nodded to himself, then slumped down in relief, letting out a great pleased sigh of contentment.  
  
/That was a beautiful game. No matter what else changes, Go will always be Go./ he announced.  
  
"Hey, do you want to play a game with me?" Hikaru inquired, curious to see just how good this Fujiwara Sai really was. Was he better then grandpa?  
  
He was, as it turned out.  
  
With Sai constantly at his side and since he now spent a great deal more time playing and studying Go due to the fact that Sai made him sick whenever he didn't get to play enough Go, Shindo's rate of improvement increased greatly. In just a month, he managed to beat his grandfather with a one-stone handicap as often as he lost. One month after that, his grandfather was the one who placed a stone at the beginning of each game.  
  
Once that happened, Hikaru's grandfather started dragging Hikaru along to the Go Salon he occasionally visited, introducing him to the players there, getting him started playing others. Occasionally, Hikaru would let Sai come out to play, but kept those times at a minimum since the difference between the two of them was just too great. People took note when he let Sai play a game, people were stunned when he let Sai play a game.  
  
This continued, for a almost a year and that was when this particular incarnation of Shindo Hikaru walked into Touya Koya's Go Salon for the first time...  
  
The End! ( For now... )  
  



	2. Two

The Scoundrel of GoPG-13   
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson 

Summary: AU. Hikaru already knows Go when he first comes across Sai. How will this change things, as we delve into the Hikaru no Go world, Hawk-style? Come on in and find out... 

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go, Hikaru, Sai and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. I could use the money! The story is mine though, all mine. 

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)   
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as , more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above. 

"speech"   
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers   
/thoughts/   
/telepathy/   
translation   
soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV 

Previously, on 'The Scoundrel of Go' 

With Sai constantly at his side and since he now spent a great deal more time playing and studying Go due to the fact that Sai made him sick whenever he didn't get to play enough Go, Shindo's rate of improvement increased greatly. In just a month, he managed to beat his grandfather with a one-stone handicap as often as he lost. One month after that, his grandfather was the one who placed a stone at the beginning of each game. 

Once that happened, Hikaru's grandfather started dragging Hikaru along to the Go Salon he occasionally visited, introducing him to the players there, getting him started playing others. Occasionally, Hikaru would let Sai come out to play, but kept those times at a minimum since the difference between the two of them was just too great. People took note when he let Sai play a game, people were stunned when he let Sai play a game. 

This continued, for a almost a year and that was when this particular incarnation of Shindo Hikaru walked into Touya Koya's Go Salon for the first time... 

Roll credits 

* * *

Chapter Two:

Hikaru sighed as he walked past the poster for the Go club, scratching his head. While it might be fun to play with people his own age, the level was just too different. With Sai around 24/7 for almost a year, Hikaru knew that he'd gotten strong. He couldn't even seriously play against his grandfather any longer. The games they played now, were Shido-Go. And Hikaru wasn't the one who learned any longer. Now, he was the teacher. Or Sai on occasion, as Hikaru relayed a few instructions from Sai and even let the old dead guy play a few games. 

His grandfather had been urging Hikaru to take the Insei test, but Hikaru declined. For about half a year now, he had started visiting new Go Salons. The old people at his grandfathers Go Salon were no longer willing to play for money against him. On occasion, he was handed a few Yen to play Shido-Go with some old geezer or semi-senile bat. But Shindo wanted money to buy a computer for, so he had started going to new places, where people didn't know him. He didn't have time to spend all that time as an Insei playing games for free, when it was so much more profitable to spend his time winning money off old geezers in Go Salons. 

He wasn't all that far away from his goal of gathering enough money to buy a brand new kick-ass computer either, when he arrived at a certain Go Salon. A Go Salon which other Shindo Hikaru's, in other timelines, had visited a year earlier then this Hikaru. Where he had come across another young player, Touya Akira, starting a chain of events that most of us are very familiar with. 

But the Shindo Hikaru that walked into the Salon now, one year late, was different... Very different. 

"Hello... Ichikawa-san." Hikaru greeted Ichikawa Harumi behind the counter, sauntering up to it with the confident stride of someone who was used to all the various types of Go Salons the city had to offer. His greeting was somewhat drawn out, because he had to read her name off a tag clipped to the apron she wore, before finishing his greeting. 

"Good afternoon. I haven't seen you around here before. Your first time?" she gently inquired. 

"Yes. This is my first visit." Hikaru replied, snatching up a pencil and dragging an empty form across the desk, deftly and confidently filling it out before Ichikawa had a chance to ask him to do so. He glanced aside and spotted the price-list, putting five hundred Yen down along with the pen once he was done. "I hear some strong players come to this Go Salon. Are any of them free to play me?" he inquired, looking around. 

"My, someone certainly thinks a lot of himself." Ichikawa teased as she looked down at the paper and blinked as she saw that this kid, this Shindo Hikaru, rated his strength far beyond what should be possible for someone his age. The only one that young Ichikawa personally knew of with that kind of talent, that kind of skill, was Touya Akira. And she refused to believe that this kid, cute as he was, was anywhere near Akira-kuns level. "How long have you been playing Go? How strong are you? Really?" 

"You think I'm pulling your leg, eh?" Hikaru responded, well used to such responses by now, as he pondered how to answer the first question. His grandfather had taught him Go when he was five, but he hadn't actually played Go until after he met Sai. Before then, he'd endured Go. After he met Sai, he'd played Go. There was a difference, a significant difference. And how strong was he? He knew how strong Sai was, but him? How strong was he? 

"One and a half year. I've played even games against Insei and a few first Dans and won." Shindo replied with a faint shrug. He had no real idea where that placed him in the skill hierarchy, but he figured she would. He just knew that it meant that he was plenty strong. "But, tell you what, Ichikawa-san. Pit me against your three strongest players in a simultaneous game. If I win, I play for free. If I loose, I'll wash all your stones." he suggested, causing Ichikawa to giggle with amusement. 

/Can I play the games, Shindo? Can I? Can I?/ Sai pleaded, excited that he might be getting an opportunity to play against someone new. 

/And loose all of them again, if there's any betting going on?/ Shindo mentally countered. /I think not./ he added, still peeved over the fact that Sai had thrown away such a challenge earlier on because he disapproved at the fact that Hikaru played Go for money. After Shindo had explained that he needed the money in order to make it so that Sai could play as much Go as he wanted, the ghost hadn't protested quite as vocally any longer. 

But Hikaru still couldn't allow him to play when money was on the line, just in case. 

"You're lucky that the master and his son aren't here today." she said. "With them absent, you might actually be able to win on one board. If you are as good as you claim. Are you an Insei?" she inquired. 

/Oh, please?! Hiiiikaru! At least one board? Please let me play just one of the boards? I promise that I won't throw away the game!/ 

/Even if there's money on the line?/ Hikaru mentally snorted. 

/Even if./ Sai swore. 

"No." Hikaru admitted, causing Ichikawa to shake her head in bemusement. While she admired the kid for having guts, he was arrogant beyond belief if he actually thought he stood a chance in this bet without the sort of experience in playing good players one could only get as a professional or as an Insei. 

/Neh, Hikaru. Will the money really make it so that I can play as much as I want?/ Sai hesitantly inquired. 

Ah well, the kid needed a lesson and it would be easier on her hands if she didn't have to wash the stones herself. 

/Yes. You remember when we saw that demonstration of Net-Go, right? If I can buy a computer, we can play Go on the Internet. You can play through me, without raising suspicions. But computers cost a lot of money./ Hikaru responded. 

"All the stones, remember that?" Ichikawa reminded him, then looked around the room, coming to a stop as she located one person she definitively wanted to play one of the three boards. Perhaps it was more then a little unfair to pit the kid against a pro, but he had said that he wanted to play the three strongest players at the Salon. "Ashiwara-sensei?" she discreetly called, making eye contact with the man from across the room. 

/Even if./ Sai repeated. /Even if there's money on the line, I won't throw the game away./ 

Ashiwara Hiroyuki looked up from the game he was watching, nodded and made his way through the room. 

/Then you can play. You can have the first board./ Shindo offered. 

"Hello, Ichikawa-chan." he greeted her, then noticed Shindo. "Ah, you found me another student?" he inquired, bowing faintly to Hikaru. Just like with Shirakawa Michio, another one of the Meijins students, he taught Go to beginners on the side. "I'm Ashiwara Hiroyuki." he introduced himself. 

"Not quite, Ashiwara-sensei." Ichikawa replied. "Shindo-kun here wants to play our three strongest players. At the same time... Are you free for a game?" she inquired, as Hiroyuki raised an eyebrow, looking at Hikaru again. 

"Shindo Hikaru. Pleased to meet you, Ashiwara-san." Hikaru introduced himself, then blinked as he realised why the name seemed so familiar. "Ashiwara Hiroyuki, the Pro? The Meijin's student?" he inquired, recalling the name from Kifu and articles in Weekly Go. 

/The Meijins student? He studies under the man who's chasing the Hand of God?/ Sai commented. 

/Yes./ Shindo replied. 

"That's right, kid. You're giving up already?" Ichikawa chided him. 

"No. Not at all. This just makes it all the more interesting." Hikaru replied, bowing to Ashiwara. "I'd be honoured, if you'd play first board against me." 

/Sai? Please try not to kick his butt too hard? I don't want him too suspicious of me./ Hikaru requested. 

/An even game?/ Sai suggested. 

"Well, how can I refuse a request like that?" Ashiwara responded with an indulgent smile. "Are you an Insei?" he asked. 

/That'd be perfect, Sai./ Hikaru responded. 

"No." Hikaru replied, a little annoyed at the constant questioning about that. Did one have to be an Insei in order to be a good young player? "And the other two boards?" he inquired. 

/On second thought, beat him with a moku or two./ Hikaru suggested, suppressing an evil smirk. 

"Echisawa-san and Sagara-kun were just about ready. I'll ask them if they have time for one more game." Hiroyuki replied and Ichikawa nodded. Those two were not the strongest players in the Salon, but they were strong enough. Sagara-kun had been an Insei for two years, but had to quit in order to help out with his fathers Tofu business after the old man had been in a car accident. Echisawa had taken the pro test four times, but always came just short of the top positions. He was now too old to take it again. 

But with Ashiwara-sensei playing first board, it shouldn't matter much if there were a few even stronger players at the Salon then those two. 

"Can I get you anything to drink or eat?" Ichikawa inquired as they were about to leave. 

"Tea for me, please." Shindo responded and walked with Ashiwara to the other two, who instantly accepted the challenge. It also drew quite a few bystanders, who came over as they noticed as a kid sat down to play simultaneously against Ashiwara, Echisawa and Sagara. 

"How many stones do you want, Shindo-kun?" Ashiwara inquired as they sat down. 

"None." Hikaru replied, then grinned. "How many do you want, Ashiwara-san?" he countered, causing the older man to blink in surprise and many of the bystanders to emit shocked exclamations. 

"Even games, then." Ashiwara ventured, looking over at his teammates, who both nodded. Neither willing to take a handicap against such a young kid, even if he was cockier then most and seemed very confident in his ability to win. "Are you sure about the handicap?" Ashiwara asked again, looking over at Shindo. "Even Touya Akira would be hard pressed to win under these conditions." 

Which was true. Over the last six months, he had started loosing against Akira-kun on occasion, even if he still won the lions share of their games. But with two other opponents, one of them as skilled as Echisawa was, even Akira would be hard pressed to walk away with a single victory, to say nothing of three! 

"Oh?" Shindo commented, then patted the wallet in his pocket, before bringing it out. "Would you care to make a little wager on the outcome?" he inquired. "Say, five-thousand Yen a board?" he suggested and pulled out fifteen thousand Yen, putting down five-thousand Yen beside each of the boards.

* * *

"Akira-kun!" Ichikawa happily greeted the boy in question as he strolled into the Salon. "Touya-sensei!" she added, as the boys father followed him. "Welcome. You two really missed something, earlier." she said, hardly able to contain herself. 

"Oh?" Touya Koyo said impassively, as if the matter, whatever it was, held little interest for him. 

"A thirteen year old kid walked in earlier and challenged our three strongest players. If he won, I promised that he'd get to play for free. If he lost, he'd wash all the stones." Ichikawa replied, then grinned. "Ashiwara-sensei, Echisawa-san and Sagara-kun accepted the challenge." 

"Then I congratulate you on a good deal, Ichikawa-kun." Touya Koyo congratulated her. "Even my Akira would find that hurdle insurmountable." 

"How did it go?" Akira inquired. 

"They're still playing over there." Ichikawa commented, nodding towards a large group surrounding three tables pushed together in one end of the Salon. 

"Father, I'll go take a look." Akira said and walked off. 

"I'll come with you." Koyo intoned and strode off with a graceful stride. 

"I think I'll see if they want more tea..." Ichikawa commented to herself, then grabbed the kettle and hurried after the two, her gaze focused on Akira. 

As the trio arrived, they arrived just in time to see Echisawa give up. Sagara had already done so. Ashiwara was sweating, his tie was loosened and two buttons on his shirt had been unbuttoned. The look in his eyes was wild, making him somewhat reminiscent of a cornered animal. No matter what he did, the kid countered! Even if he managed to get ahead by some clever move, the kid always came back. The game was nearly over by now and Ashiwara was behind by three moku! What was worse was, that he didn't think he could get them back either. 

Not all of them, certainly. The kid was just too good to make a big mistake now. 

He was the one who had made a mistake, he'd seriously underestimated his opponent. Echisawa and Sagara had as well. Those two had needed the handicap and to be completely honest, he wouldn't have minded a stone or possibly even two himself, as he had a sneaking suspicion that the kid was going easy on him. 

"I have nothing." Ashiwara said, leaning forward and offering a bow to his opponent. It was no use playing any longer, he had lost. It was only a question of by how much he had lost. But lost he had. 

/Thank you for the game./ Sai said. 

"Thank you for the game." Hikaru repeated his ghostly companions words. 

The crowd, who had seen how the game played out, reacted little except by impressed murmured comments between themselves. But the three newcomers, who hadn't been there for the entire games, reacted more strongly. 

"What?!" Ichikawa exclaimed, her wide-open eyes staring down at the kid. "You... Won?" she inquired. 

"Good games." Touya Koyo commented, looking over the three boards. 

Akira didn't say anything, but his eyes were transfixed at the three boards. His father hadn't been kidding when he said that he would have found it a major hurdle. He well knew Ashiwara's abilities and he had played against Sagara before. Echisawa was unknown to him, but judging by the game, Akira guestimated that his ability was somewhere between that of Sagara and Ashiwara. Probably a little closer to Ashiwara then Sagara. 

"Touya Meijin!" Ashiwara exclaimed, surprised to see his mentor present, as he had been completely focused on the game up until now. "Meijin, I..." Ashiwara begun, but was cut off as the Meijin raised a hand. 

"What is your name, boy?" Touya Koyo inquired, looking down at Hikaru, who gazed impassively back at him. 

/Fujiwara Sai!/ Sai piped up, standing with his back straight, almost glaring straight into the Meijins eyes. 

"Shindo Hikaru, Meijin-sensei." Hikaru replied. "Pleased to meet you." he added. 

/Hikaru. I have to play this man./ Sai announced. 

/You can't, Sai. Not now. It would raise too many suspicions./ Hikaru protested. 

/Hikaru. I have to play this man./ Sai repeated. 

/I'm sorry, Sai. Not today. Not here./ Hikaru vetoed. 

/HiiiiiikaruuUUuuuu!/ Sai wailed. /When? When?/ 

/I don't know, Sai. Someday./ he countered, wondering if he could really make good on that. How could he let Sai play the Meijin, without people taking note of Sai's skills? He couldn't very well play in disguise, could he? 

/Hikaru is a meanie./ Sai declared, then hunched down over his own legs and pouted. 

"Shindo-kun. I will remember that." Koya announced. "Will you be taking the pro test this year?" 

"I'm thinking about it." Shindo confirmed. He did have to admit that it sounded good, playing Go for a living. More free time then with a regular job, less stress and he could even let Sai play a game or two on occasion, to keep the troublesome ghost from sulking too much. He had been seriously pissed off, when he had first discovered that Sai's depressions during times when he was suffering from GWS, Go Withdrawal Syndrome, actually affected Hikaru himself physically by making him ill! 

"Then I expect that I'll soon see you in front of me, on the other side of a Goban." Touya Koyo said, put one hand on Akira's shoulder and led him off. If there were such monsters like Shindo Hikaru running around, there was still much he had to teach Akira and no time to loose. Akira had just announced his decision to wait another year before taking the pro test, which was now both a relief and a disappointment. A relief because Koyo would now have time to prepare Akira for an opponent like Shindo Hikaru. A disappointment because once Shindo became a Pro, and Touya Koyo did not doubt that he would become a Pro after seeing those three games, Hikaru would probably start improving as becoming Pro offered a whole different range of opponents. It was hard to improve without good opponents, and amateurs only rarely got to play against pro-level-players. 

Yes, the games had been very impressive. Especially the one against Shirakawa, that one had been particularly impressive. 

It was odd, in a way, how different the three games had been. The last one... The placement of the stones was vastly different from the other two, almost as if it had been played by an entirely different person, then the first two. 

Though it took two to play Go, and it was possible that only Ashiwara had been skilled enough of the three, to allow Hikaru's full skill to reveal itself. Or perhaps he was a beginner to simultaneous games, and had only been able to fully focus on one of the boards, getting sloppy on the other two as most of his focus had been directed at the most dangerous opponent. 

That wouldn't last long though, Shindo Hikaru would no doubt hit a second growth spurt after turning professional and wouldn't be as easily distracted in the future. 

But Touya Koya was in no way disappointed over that. It was, as far as he was concerned, good news that a child able to play Akira on equal terms had emerged. He had been somewhat troubled over the fact that Akira seemed so far removed from other players his age. 

But now... There was another. 

And he would personally make sure, that Akira would be ready to face this Shindo Hikaru on equal terms. 

The End! ( For now... ) 


	3. Three

The Scoundrel of Go PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: AU. Hikaru already knows Go when he first comes across Sai. How will this change things, as we delve into the Hikaru no Go world, Hawk-style? Come on in and find out...

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go, Hikaru, Sai and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. I could use the money! The story is mine though, all mine.

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Previously, on 'The Scoundrel of Go'

Yes, the games had been very impressive. Especially the one against Ashiwara, that one had been particularly impressive.

It was odd, in a way, how different the three games had been. The last one... The placement of the stones was vastly different from the other two, almost as if it had been played by an entirely different person, then the first two.

Though it took two to play Go, and it was possible that only Ashiwara had been skilled enough of the three, to allow Hikaru's full skill to reveal itself. Or perhaps he was a beginner to simultaneous games, and had only been able to fully focus on one of the boards, getting sloppy on the other two as most of his focus had been directed at the most dangerous opponent.

That wouldn't last long though, Shindo Hikaru would no doubt hit a second growth spurt after turning professional and wouldn't be as easily distracted in the future.

But Touya Koyo was in no way disappointed over that. It was, as far as he was concerned, good news that a child able to play Akira on equal terms had emerged. He had been somewhat troubled over the fact that Akira seemed so far removed from other players his age.

But now... There was another.

And he would personally make sure, that Akira would be ready to face this Shindo Hikaru on equal terms.

Roll credits

* * *

Chapter Three:

"Pro? What are you talking about, Hikaru?" his concerned mother inquired with a nervous expression on her kind face.

"I'm going to try and pass the pro exam this year, mother." Hikaru replied absently, while stuffing his teenaged hungry mouth with some of his mothers delicious Ramen. "I played a Pro today and won, so I figure that I've got a pretty good shot at making it."

/Though I was the one who actually played him./ Sai added, though this of course went unheard by everyone other then Hikaru, who apparently was the only one capable of hearing the ancient ghost, despite the fears he'd harboured in the early beginnings of their unexpected relationship.

But as time went by and nobody else seemed to hear what Sai said, he started to relax and got used to having to constantly wear the poker face of all poker faces, as not to visibly react to whatever Sai said around him.

Though he had occasionally wondered if he was simply going insane, imagining it all. But the little unexpected tidbits of information Sai shared with him, not to forget just how incredibly talented Sai was at Go, had served to alleviate his concerns about loosing his mind and eventually convinced him that he wasn't just imagining the ancient ghost.

"But what about school? This hobby of yours is already taking far too much time away from your studies." his mother argued.

"If I pass the test, I won't have to worry about school any more." Hikaru responded.

"But, what about work?" his mother countered. "Without an education, you'll never get a decent job."

"If you pass the test, you'll have a job, won't you?" his father asked at this, as he recalled something he'd once heard or read somewhere. "The institute of Go or some such hires you?" he asked for confirmation, trying to recall something he'd barely paid attention to before as it wasn't particularly interesting, but which had now when his son had announced his intentions to go for it had become extremely important.

"Yeah." Hikaru agreed.

"But... You're so young?" his mother exclaimed in astonishment.

"It doesn't matter, mother. Father is right. As long as I pass the exam, I'll have a job. My age doesn't matter." Hikaru explained between mouthfuls of Ramen. "And if I can find some students to tutor, it'll be enough money that I can make a living off it."

"Make a living off playing a game?" she exclaimed incredulously. "What sort of job is that?" she demanded to know. "Why haven't I heard about this before?"

"You never asked." Hikaru replied with a faint shrug. "I've got a few printouts somewhere of the details, I'll see if I can find them for you." he offered to calm down his mother, who seemed very nearly about to go hysteric at the recent revelations.

* * *

"Kifu, parent and a sponsor, eh?" Hikaru muttered as he left the Go Institute, absently thumbing through an application to the Insei program. His mother had absolutely refused to pay the fee for the pro test, which irked the heck outta Hikaru. He could pay for it himself, but only if he delayed buying a computer until he could restock his funds. Becoming part of the Insei program was cheaper and would earn him a free pass to the Pro exams if he could fight his way to the top of the Insei. That way, he could both get his computer and take the Pro exam.

He could get his hands on some Kifu easily enough, as he could accurately recollect every single game he'd ever played and every single game Sai had ever played through him. If he kept his mouth shut about the Insei program being a way for him to take the Pro exam behind her back, he could probably get his mother to come and perhaps even pay the test fee. But a sponsor? Where the heck would he get his hands on one of those?

Even if gramps was impressed enough by his own accomplishments in the amateur scene, Hikaru doubted that whatever people he had to impress in order to get into the Insei program would be. No, getting a Pro as a sponsor was probably necessary.

And the only professional Hikaru had ever played, was Ashiwara. Well, Sai had been the one who played, but Ashiwara didn't know that.

Speaking of which, perhaps Hikaru could get Ashiwara as a sponsor? He'd certainly seemed impressed enough by the game and might be willing to put in a good word for him.

It was this absent hope, which made Hikaru decide to return to the Go salon where Sai had played the pro, nursing faint hopes that he could persuade Ashiwara to sponsor his entry into the Insei program.

He greeted Ichikawa at the counter and plunked a five-hundred yen coin down in front of her, before moving on into the salon, looking around for Ashiwara. Unfortunately, the older man didn't appear to be there. He sighed and shrugged, he didn't really have anything else planned, so he might just as well stick around for a while and see if Ashiwara might show up.

Echisawa was present though and headed on over to greet his former opponent, requesting a game one-on-one. Hikaru agreed and the two of them soon found themselves facing each other over a goban.

/Sai? Wanna play some Shidou-go/ Hikaru asked his eternal companion, the ghost of Fujiwarano Sai.

/YES/ Sai replied enthusiastically, doing a happy little dance all the while up until Echisawa made his first move, having won the privilege of the first move during nigiri. At that point, Sai calmed down a bit and considered the goban for a few seconds, before pointing on the upper right star with his fan.

Hikaru nodded to himself and placed a stone in the spot Sai indicated, letting his mind relax as he contented himself with merely observing the tutoring game in front of him. It was always a pleasure watching Sai's games, as he always found a way to make them exciting, without completely crushing his opponents. The games were always close, win or loss decided by the tiniest of margins, all in the name of bettering whomever he played, while at the same time giving Hikaru a few pointers.

While Hikaru himself played very solid games at this point, he was still far behind Sai. Ashiwara and Shindo were probably fairly evenly matched, Sai reasoned. Hikaru had a knack for unexpected and powerful moves, but his endgame left a lot to desire, so he usually lost out on whatever lead he had up until that point. Of course, most opponents surrendered before the endgame if they had been loosing badly, so it only rarely reached that point.

Ashiwara was a solid all-round player, good on defence, good on offence and with a good ability to read ahead. He had played well in the beginning, impressed in the middle and played solidly in the endgame. Yes, Sai would like to see Shindo play the older man and was nearly as disappointed as Hikaru that the older man wasn't there.

Which may or not have been fortunate, as Hikaru instead came to meet somebody else.

Somebody who greatly changed his plans for the future and made him miss out on the opportunity to become an Insei.

"Come now, man. Just give up, will you?" a voice intruded on Hikaru's thoughts after Echisawa had won by one and a half moku, thanked Sai through Hikaru for the game and departed, leaving Hikaru sitting alone sipping from a cup of tea that Ichikawa-san had provided for him half-way through the game. "You'll never beat me. Never in a hundred years." the voice continued and Hikaru stood up, moving over to observe the game played by this loud-mouthed braggart who'd disturbed his musings.

"Couldn't you have a little mercy on me, Tatsu? I'm your oldest and best friend, cut me some slack will you?" a kind-looking guy four or perhaps as much as five years older then Hikaru pleaded with his opponent as he looked down at a goban.

"Naw. I don't play all that often these days, so I gotta stay sharp when I do." his opponent claimed, then smirked. "Besides, its fun watching you squirm, Kenji." he finished and chuckled.

"You still haven't changed your mind about the pro exam this year, Tetsu? You're good enough to pass it, y'know?" the one who was apparently called Kenji asked.

"Naw. It's too much of a bother right now. Perhaps after I've finished school. Then I can knock the socks off my competition and teach those old stiff professionals how the game is supposed to be played." Tetsu responded with a wide grin.

"Bold claims." Hikaru spoke up from beside the table, taking a sip from his tea as the two older boys redirected their attention to him. "Sure you've got what it takes to back it up, old man?" Hikaru asked insolently, causing both Tetsu and Kenji to twitch and frown at him.

"You think you can do better then my mentally deficient friend here, kiddo?" Tetsu asked, raising an eyebrow and nodding at Kenji, who nodded his agreement as well at first before he blinked and jumped in his seat.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? You big meanie!" he protested indignantly and pointed an accusatory finger at his friend. "That's the last time I ever play against you!"

"Meh, you said the same thing last time. And the time before that. And before that as well." Tetsu stated dismissively, then refocused his attention on Hikaru. "So, how about it, kiddo? You think you can do better then Kenji here?" he asked and indicated his friend with a negligent gesture with his thumb.

"Dunno." Hikaru admitted, then glanced down at the board and shuddered at the uneven game. Tetsu had completely slaughtered his friend.

Completely.

Not even Hikaru played like that in his tutoring games with Akari.

Well, not unless she hadn't managed to annoy him in some manner, anyways.

But while it was clear that Tetsu was better then his friend, it was impossible to tell how good he was just from looking at the board, as his opponent hadn't put up much of a fight.

"But I'm willing to give it a shot to find out." Hikaru replied, looking up from the goban.

"Give it a rest, Tetsu. You playing against this kid isn't even funny. You're the student Meijin, Honinbo and Juketsu for crying out loud." Kenji protested.

"No, no, no. This brat brought this upon himself." Tetsu said, rubbing his hands together before he started clearing the board.

"Three student titles. That'd make you Kadowaki Tatsuhiko then." Hikaru said and seated himself opposite of Kadowaki after Kenji vacated his seat. "I'm Shindo Hikaru." he introduced himself as he reached out and helped out to clear the board, preparing for their games.

"Oh, you've heard of me then?" Kadowaki inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Trembling in your pants yet, kiddo? Ready to give up already, are we?" he asked.

"Not exactly." Hikaru replied with a smile. "I am looking forward to this game a whole lot more then I did before, however." he continued and grabbed a couple of stones for nigiri as Kadowaki did the same.

"It's your funeral, kid." Kadowaki replied with a wry smile.

"That has yet to be decided, hasn't it?" Hikaru continued and looked down at the stones they'd both put down on the board. "I'm black." Hikaru announced and the two exchanged stones, before the game began.

* * *

"Can I have a cup of tea, please?" Kenji requested and the attendant behind the desk put her magazine down in order to provide a cup of tea for the seemingly shell-shocked young man in front of her. She glanced over at the table he'd come from and smiled faintly as she spotted that his former opponent was now facing the strange prodigy, Shindo-kun.

"Rough game?" Ichikawa asked with a gentle smile as she handed the young man the tea he'd requested.

"You have no idea." he said and shook his head, before taking large gulps of the tea in order to calm down his frayed nerves. "That kid... He... It's... I've never seen anyone play Tatsuhiko evenly before." he managed to get out after taking a deep breath of air.

"Shindo-kun is... Unique." Ichikawa agreed and shook her own head.

"At first I thought he was just some cocky kid, but..." Kenji started to say, then trailed off, not quite knowing how to finish his sentence. "I didn't think there was anyone at that age other then Touya Akira who could possibly be that good. That kid is unnatural. I'm not very good, but I am good enough to be able to tell that he's freakishly strong. Is he a Pro or Insei?" he asked.

"No." Ichikawa replied. After he'd defeated Ashiwara, she'd looked up all the young pros and hadn't found Shindo's name amongst them. He wasn't an Insei either and he'd never taken the pro exam. He was quite the enigma, really. He also reminded her a whole lot about Akira. Young, polite, well-mannered and astonishingly good at Go. He had playfulness and a certain arrogance that Akira lacked, but the two of them really were rather similar to each other.

She shook her head to clear her mind, she really shouldn't be spending so much time thinking about young boys several years her juniors. She really needed to get over this silly crush on Akira, at the very least. If the Meijin found out, she didn't know how she'd ever be able to live with herself or face her boss again. She'd have to quit this job and though she wouldn't have minded something more exciting to do at times, she was actually rather fond of this job. It was quiet, rarely stressful and she quite enjoyed talking with the customers who were all very pleasant and extremely nice to her.

"Well, he should be." Kenji announced and asked for a refill, which Harumi swiftly provided him with.

"He told the Meijin that he might take it next time." Ichikawa revealed in a conspiratoric whisper as she handed him the tea.

"The Meijin!" Kenji spluttered. "He's the Meijin's pupil?"

"No. They've only met once, as far as I know. Touya Meijin arrived just in time to watch Shindo-kun finish a simultaneous game against Ashiwara-sensei and two others and the two of them talked for a bit before Shindo had to leave." Ichikawa revealed.

"I just can't believe it. Tatsuhiko won the student Meijin, student Honinbo and student Juketsu. Sure he doesn't play all that often now, but he's still the best I've ever seen and now he's being pressured hard by a kid." Kenji said and shook his head, sipping from his new cup of tea at a more moderate pace as he looked over at the two players. As he did, his face assumed a calmer expression and he started to smile a little bit. "But, perhaps this will be good for him. I've never seen Tatsuhiko this serious before. He's always lacked ambition, but now... Now I think he may just have found it at long last." he mused as he looked over at his old friend.

"Shindo-kun does that to people." Ichikawa agreed with a tender expression. Akira had been the same, just sort of drifting through life in an absent manner. Sure, he studied Go and he was extremely good at it. But he'd gotten much more passionate about it and he hadn't even played Shindo, just seen the game he'd played against Ashiwara. But that had been enough to get him really passionate about the game.

Ashiwara was the same. The happy-go-lucky young man who never seemed to have a care in the world had launched himself back into the world of Go with a drive he'd never had before. He and Akira had grown even closer since the game against Shindo and they could often be found discussing, playing games or recreating them from Kifu. They'd also taken to studying Shusaku for some odd reason, both of them could often be seen lugging about books about the long-since dead player.

She'd asked Ashiwara about it and all she'd gotten out of him, was that Shindo-kun played like Shusaku and that he wouldn't be caught off his guard by it again.

Even the Meijin had been affected, spending more time with Akira then before and when his busy schedule didn't permit him to do so, he arranged for other professionals to tutor his son in his stead.

Akira seemed much more alive these days and for that, Harumi would always be grateful to Shindo Hikaru. She'd always been concerned over the son of her employer. She'd seen him like a little brother and still tried to do so, even if her thoughts and emotions occasionally betrayed her. She shook her head again to clear her mind. Even now, just thinking about Akira made improper thoughts pop up in her mind.

She had considered getting help for this, but figured that for as long as it was just thoughts, it wasn't a problem.

Well, unless the dream with the jar of honey, the pink feather duster and the strap-on returned. If that returned, she'd have to seek professional help.

Well, either that or get laid.

By someone a whole lot older then Touya Akira.

"I told you that I'd win, Old Man." Shindo's voice boisterously announced, causing the two at the counter to look up as the two players approached.

"Stop calling me that, kid! I'm no old geezer!" Tatsuhiko protested as the two of them ambled up to the counter.

"You lost then?" Kenji asked which got him a dirty look and a sour expression from his friend.

"Yeah. Just imagine it, me loosing to a brat like this." he snorted and moved the dirty look from Kenji to Shindo.

"You're out of practise, Old Man. You haven't played much lately, have you?" Shindo asked.

"By the way, Shindo-kun. Have you decided yet about the pro exam?" Harumi asked, eager to find out something that might earn her a few points with Akira.

"Yeah. That was why I came here today, actually. I was hoping to talk with Ashiwara-sensei and ask if he'd be my sponsor into the Insei program."

"You want to be an Insei?" Kadowaki interrupted and laughed. "Whatever for? You'd just be wasting your time there."

"My parents won't pay for the pro exam, but if I become an Insei, that will be taken care of." Shindo admitted after a few moments of silence.

"That's all?" Kadowaki asked and looked thoughtful for a few moments, before he smiled. "Tell you what, kiddo. If you'll play me at least once a week to get me back to speed and help me brush off my obviously rusty skills for this years exam, I'll pay for yours as well."

"You're going to take the exam, Tatsuhiko?" Kenji asked with a confused expression. "I though you said that you wouldn't be taking it for a couple of years yet?"

"I wasn't, Kenji. But I can't let this insolent brat get too far ahead of me, now can I?" he asked with a grin. "Once I've recovered my old skills, you're going down, kid!" he announced.

"Once a week, huh? Well then, Old Man. You've got yourself a deal." Shindo replied and glared daggers at Kadowaki. "But you'll be the one going down!" he added with a grin of his own.

"Grrrr!" Kadowaki snarled.

"Grrrr!" Shindo snarled right back.

/Oh my.../ Sai sighed and shook his ghostly head.

"Now, now, you two..." Harumi started, gesturing at them to keep it down as not to disturb the other customers.

"Oh boy, now there's two of them." Kenji sighed and shook his head.

The End! ( For now... )


	4. Four

The Scoundrel of Go PG-13  
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson

Summary: AU. Hikaru already knows Go when he first comes across Sai. How will this change things, as we delve into the Hikaru no Go world, Hawk-style? Come on in and find out...

Disclaimer: Hikaru no Go, Hikaru, Sai and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. I could use the money! The story is mine though, all mine.

Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)  
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860, MSN Messenger/E-mail as iamhawk at yahoo dot com, though not very frequently as real life lately interferes with my online existance more then I'd like. More stories are available at my nifty lil' site at hawksgalaxy dot com or by clicking on my handle up above.

"speech"  
emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers  
/thoughts/  
/telepathy/  
translation  
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+

Merry XXX-mas!

This was released as one part of my smutty XXX-mas 2006 event, when I made a bunch of shit available at The Fanfiction Forum, ff dot net and fan-fics-r-us. Not all of it was smut, but most of it was at the very least naughty. What and where shit was released, is found here below:

FMP - Unbecoming Conduct Chapter 1 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
HnG - The Scoundrel of Go Chapter 4 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
HP - Black Heir Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
HP - Fall of the Malfoys, Rise of the Blacks Chapter 2 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
HP - Nymph in servitude Chapter 4 ( TFF, PP3+HaT Yahoo Groups, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
C Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 4 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
Naruto - Master Nin Chapter 5 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )  
NGE - A Night with Misato ( fan-fics-r-us for XXX-mas, it had already been available on TFF for quite some time. )  
NGE - A Morning with Misato ( TFF for XXX-mas, fan-fics-r-us sometime after XXX-mas. )  
Ranma ½ - Urd Muyo Chapter 1 ( ff dot net, it had already been available at TFF for quite some time. )  
Vandread - Robinson Tokai Chapter 6 ( TFF for XXX-mas, ff dot net sometime after XXX-mas. )

And a naughty new year!

Previously, on 'The Scoundrel of Go'

"You're going to take the exam, Tatsuhiko?" Kenji asked with a confused expression. "I though you said that you wouldn't be taking it for a couple of years yet?"

"I wasn't, Kenji. But I can't let this insolent brat get too far ahead of me, now can I?" he asked with a grin. "Once I've recovered my old skills, you're going down, kid!" he announced.

"Once a week, huh? Well then, Old Man. You've got yourself a deal." Shindo replied and glared daggers at Kadowaki. "But you'll be the one going down!" he added with a grin of his own.

"Grrrr!" Kadowaki snarled.

"Grrrr!" Shindo snarled right back.

/Oh my.../ Sai sighed and shook his ghostly head.

"Now, now, you two..." Harumi started, gesturing at them to keep it down as not to disturb the other customers.

"Oh boy, now there's two of them." Kenji sighed and shook his head.

Roll credits

* * *

Chapter Four:

"Another win, eh, Isumi?" Waya commented as he walked up to record today's win, standing in line behind Isumi who was jotting down the results of his own match.

"Yes." Isumi calmly responded. "You too? Congratulations."

"It's going just about as expected, Insei dominate!" Waya said with badly concealed pride. "How did Mashiba and Honda do today?" he inquired, seeing as the two of them weren't still playing.

"Still undefeated." Isumi confirmed after a moments pause to check the records. "As are Kadowaki-san and Shindo-san."

"As expected from Kadowaki-san. He got three student titles, after all. But who's this Shindo?" Waya inquired. "He got through the preliminaries undefeated, didn't he?"

"Yes. He was the only one to beat Kadowaki-san in the preliminaries." Isumi confirmed. "By seven and a half Moku." he added.

"Seven and a half? Against Kadowaki?!" Waya exclaimed as Isumi moved out of the way, so Waya could record his own win.

"Yes. I saw the later part of their game. They're both incredibly strong and focused players. But in the end, Shindo-san simply went above Kadowaki-san and walked away victorious." Isumi replied.

"Why were you watching the preliminaries?" Waya inquired with a confused expression.

"My sempai Sanada from the Nine Stars Club went through the preliminaries." Isumi answered, referring to a former Insei who was still part of the Nine Stars Club. "I came to support him." Isumi added and glanced at the records, shaking his head. "My third last game is against Shindo-san, second last against you and the last one with Kadowaki-san."

"Kadowaki third last, you second and Shindo for the last game." Waya commented after glancing at the records himself.

"I can hardly wait." Isumi confessed. "I really wanted to play against Kadowaki-san when I first heard about him taking the exam. Shindo-san will be interesting too."

"All the troublesome guys for the last three games." Waya responded with a sigh. "I don't know weather to be relieved or dismayed."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I see that your next games are against Fuku and Honda." Isumi commented with a faint smile, causing Waya to tense up for a few moments.

"I will beat Fuku this time!" Waya exclaimed angrily. "Honda is good, but I have confidence in my Go. I will beat him too!" Waya swore.

"I'm playing Nase next. The Insei winning streak will be over soon, one way or another." Isumi said with a sad expression.

"Yeah..." Waya agreed. "But you're the number one Insei, you'll kick ass all the way until you play me. Then I'll hand you your only defeat and we'll both become professionals!"

"What are you talking about? I will be the undefeated one." Isumi responded indignantly and the two of them continued to banter as they left the room.

* * *

"One loss each. Shindo-san is the only one still undefeated." Isumi commented as the two of them rode up in the elevator. Shindo and Kadowaki both beat Honda and Mashiba. Shindo also defeated Kadowaki again. Isumi had forfeited a game, due to being stuck on the subway because of a broken-down train engine on his way to the game. Once he made it to the Institute, it was too late and he'd gotten a default loss. Waya had won against Fuku, only to loose against Honda.

"We're playing Shindo and Kadowaki today." Waya said, swallowing nervously, before he puffed himself up. "I'll win, so you'd better win too, Isumi!" Waya blustered, concealing his nervousity with fake bravado.

"Todays game can determine it all." Isumi said, wiping a few beads of sweat off his forehead. "A win today, is an all-clear no matter what happens in the last two games." he added.

"Yeah." Waya agreed, swallowing nervously again, before falling silent. Today's game wasn't the last in the exam, but it could very well be the most important one. But both of them would be playing against very troublesome opponents.

* * *

"Two losses, eh?" Waya mumbled as he seated himself in front of the Goban.

"Two losses." Isumi agreed with a morose expression. "Shindo-san was a fearsome opponent."

"As was Kadowaki. Man, he slaughtered me! Never even got to Yose." Waya reluctantly admitted. "Both Honda and Mashiba won their games." he added.

"Yeah." Isumi said and fell silent, as did Waya. Shindo was undefeated, Kadowaki had one loss, Isumi and Waya had two each, Mashiba had racked up three losses and Honda was still at four. After today's game, one of them would be at three losses while the other would still be at two with just one game left. And to top it off, the remaining opponents were Shindo and Kadowaki.

The possibilities were mind-boggling. Shindo had already made it. Even if he lost both his remaining games, he'd only be at two losses. Either Waya or Isumi would wind up with three losses after this game. Mashiba was playing Fuku for the last game and he was strong against Fuku, today's opponent wasn't very good either. So he would probably still be at three losses when the scheduled games were over. Today's winner in the Waya-Isumi game would be in a favourable position, even if the last remaining opponent was a tough one.

Both of them shook their heads, clearing their minds of such distractions. For now, they had to focus on this one game. This extremely important game.

* * *

"Congratulations on becoming a pro, Shindo-kun." Amano congratulated the young boy in front of him.

"Huh?" Shindo exclaimed with a bewildered expression. "What? The exams aren't over yet."

"You're undefeated, with only one game left. No matter if you win or loose the next game, you've made it." Amano informed Shindo, who apparently were unaware of his situation. "Kadowaki-san has only one loss, so he has also made it, no matter what happens." Amano continued, seeing as how young Shindo was apparently unaware of how things were going.

"That's nice. Kadowaki-san is a fun opponent, I'm looking forward to playing more interesting games with him." Shindo commented with a wistful smile.

"Isumi-kun defeated Waya-kun today, so he's still at only two losses. Waya-kun and Mashiba-kun both have three losses. The last spot will be taken by one of them. Your thoughts?" Amano finished.

"Isumi-san? Yes, he was fun to play against too. I really enjoyed that game." Shindo said. "Mashiba-san is strong, but very conventional. He put up a good fight, but has trouble thinking outside the box. I have not seen Waya-san play yet, so I don't know what he's like. But if he only has three losses, he must be strong too."

"How long have you been playing Go, Shindo-kun?" Amano inquired.

"Six or seven years now." Shindo responded, not willing to get into the complicated argument of enduring Go and playing Go, so he went with the answer that made it seem as if he'd been serious about the game for longer then he actually had.

"Who was your sensei?" Amano countered, eager to learn more about this mysterious rising star who had gone undefeated against such fearsome opponents as Kadowaki and Isumi.

"My grandfather taught me at first. Other then him, I don't really have a sensei. I study Kifu, play in salons and on the internet, teaching myself." Hikaru answered.

/No sensei? Hiiiiikaru!/ Sai protested indignantly. /I am your sensei!/ he insisted.

/I can't very well tell anyone that I'm learning Go from a ghost, now can I? I'd be locked up in an institution!/ Hikaru thought.

"Is your grandfather a professional?" Amano inquired.

"No, just a happy amateur." Hikaru said cheerfully.

"Haven't you ever studied under a professional?!" Amano exclaimed in surprise.

"No."

/Hmpf!/ Sai huffed with an air of wounded pride about him, crossing his arms and pouting as he averted his eyes from Hikaru.

"Remarkable!" Amano said with a sense of new-found respect for the prodigy standing in front of him.

"Is it?" Shindo responded hesitantly, blinking owlishly.

"Most players as good as you at your age have studied under a professional for years to gain their skills. For you to not have, is rather unusual." Amano explained. "Take Touya Akira for instance. He has studied under his father the Meijin ever since he was a little boy to get as good as he is today. If he had taken the exam this year, getting to this point undefeated would have been a lot harder."

"Oh? Is he any good?" Shindo inquired curiously.

"He plays against professionals and wins." Amano replied. "I have no doubt that he's the strongest young Japanese player of his generation."

"Tch, I should have played him then." Shindo said with a faint sigh.

"Oh? You've met Touya-kun?" Amano exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah. I played at his old mans salon once. He and the Meijin came over to watch my games against Ashiwara-san and two others." Shindo replied.

"Ashiwara-san the pro, Touya Meijins student?" Amano gasped.

"Yes. I asked the girl at the counter to set me up with a simultaneous game against the salons three strongest players." Shindo explained. "I didn't expect a pro to be there, though." he added with a bemused laugh and a shake of his head.

/Ah. He lost./ Amano thought, deciding to let the subject drop, even if Shindo didn't seem all that devastated about it.

"Well, I won't take up any more of your time, Shindo-kun. One final question for the article about this years pro exam though, if I may?" Amano inquired.

"Of course, Amano-san." Shindo replied. All that time spent around both his grandfather and Sai had done much to improve his formerly so horrible manners, even if he still caused his mother to throw the occasional hissy fit from time to time due to his brash manners and uncouth behaviour.

"What are your feelings regarding becoming a pro?" Amano asked, readying his notepad in case Shindo said something quote-worthy.

"I'm looking forward to it. I'm eagerly awaiting the strong opponents that I know will come before me as I walk the path of the professional." Shindo replied and took a moment to ponder the rest of his reply.

Facing strong opponents were not one of his goals in of itself. It was merely a means to his actual goal. Money. In order to win tournaments and titles, he needed to be strong. By playing against strong players, he learned, evolved and got stronger himself. When he got strong enough, raking in a few titles shouldn't be impossible.

However, he couldn't say that without pissing off a lot of people.

"This I hope, is what will eventually allow me to play the Hand of God." Shindo finished, causing Amano to gulp in surprise. /This mere kid is chasing after the same goal as Touya Meijin?/ he thought, quickly jotting down what Shindo had said. Perhaps there was more of a story here then he'd thought. Before speaking with Shindo, he'd believed that Kadowaki and Isumi would be the focal point of his article, focusing on them as two promising newly made professionals who had the potential to go far, very far.

But now after speaking with Shindo, he had a feeling that the real story might lie elsewhere then with those two young players.

* * *

"Oy, Ka-ossan!" Hikaru greeted the young man as he stepped into the elevator.

"Ka-do-wa-ki-san!" Kadowaki insisted with a disgruntled expression. "What's with you and your disrespectful form of address, Shindo-kun? I'm not an old man!"

"Sorry, Ka-ossan." Hikaru responded with a grin and an unapologetic expression.

"Feh. You're annoying." Kadowaki grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, pouting angrily.

"Congratulations on passing, old man." Hikaru said with a less gloating expression and a note of seriousness in his voice.

"To you as well." Kadowaki reluctantly responded. "Not that I expected any less, from the cocky annoying brat who kicked my ass in our first meeting." he added with a grin. "Though I suppose I have to thank you for it. If you hadn't done that, I'm not sure if I would have studied as hard as I did and decided to take the pro test this soon. I'm not going to let a brat like you get ahead of me!" he declared.

"Heh, heh, heh. Well, it's good that you did. I've really enjoyed all of our games and I'm looking forward to many more." Hikaru said to his older friend/rival.

"Oh, you can bet on it. I'll beat you yet and be the first one of us to grab a title!" Kadowaki announced with a feral glimmer in his eyes.

"We'll see about that." Shindo replied with a bemused expression.

"Brat." Kadowaki snapped.

"Old man." Hikaru countered.

"Who are you playing today?" Kadowaki inquired, changing the subject before the two of them got into another one of their loud arguments.

"Waya. You're playing Isumi today, aren't you?" Hikaru replied.

"Yep. Gonna kick his ass too!" he declared. "I've played Waya. He's good." he added in a more sedate manner then his earlier energetic declaration.

"Isumi isn't half-bad either." Shindo admitted. "He's about your level or just above, I think. A bit more straight-laced and conventional, though his potential is good. Extremely good." he added, passing on a bit of information Sai had let slip after Hikaru's game against Isumi. "I don't think he'll match up well against the current you, though."

"Oh? Why is that?" Kadowaki inquired, curious to hear more. Shindo was obnoxious and he sometimes wondered how the hell the two of them had managed to become friends at all considering the age difference, but he couldn't deny that Shindo had some occasional astonishingly good insights into both the game of Go and the people who played it.

Which was very odd, considering how ignorant he could sometimes be about other matters.

"You've gotten very good at unconventional moves lately, Ka-ossan. Your ability to read ahead isn't bad either. I think your Go will confuse and surprise Isumi-san." Shindo commented with a faint shrug. "He's not good with players like you and me. At least not yet."

Shindo's prediction turned out to be accurate, Kadowaki surprised Isumi with some unconventional moves and managed to win by two and a half Moku. Shindo himself crushed Waya and won by resignation well before Yose. With Isumi and Mashiba both at three losses, there was a playoff for the final pro spot. Mashiba won that by half a Moku, due to a mistake made by Isumi who didn't cope well under the mental pressure. While he nearly managed to take back what he lost by his mistake, Mashiba still managed to win and thus earned himself a place in the world of Go professionals, while Isumi, Waya, Nase and Honda would have to try again next time.

* * *

/He resigned./ Sai commented and leaned his head back, letting out a gentle sigh of pleasure. /Neh, Hikaru? Can I play another game? Can I? Can I?/

"All right, one more is fine, I guess." Hikaru replied and looked over the huge list of challengers who wanted to take on the legendary Sai, the mysterious Internet Go genius who had made such a huge impact after Hikaru bought his computer. "Any preferences?"

/LL is on. He is a good opponent./ Sai commented after a while. He couldn't really read the romanji letters on the screen, but he'd learned to recognize a few of them.

"That he is." Hikaru agreed, who had played against LL himself a few times, under his own screen name, shindohikaru. He saw no need to hide himself behind some phoney name, so he used his own when he was playing instead of Sai. While he too had become something of a celeb on the net, Sai by far outranked him still.

Hikaru smiled faintly at that. While he'd gotten much better since meeting and starting to play against Sai, he still couldn't beat the energetic ghost in an even game. If Hikaru got a five stone handicap, they were able to play somewhat evenly. He had been starting to win more then he lost though, so he figured that it was time to move on to a four stone handicap.

"Oh, another challenger." Sai piped up and Shindo redirected his attention to the screen.

"Zelda?" he questioned out loud. "What sort of lame-ass name is that? Neh, Sai. You're playing Zelda." Hikaru informed his ghostly companion as he accepted the challenge.

"Zelda? Is he any good?" Sai inquired.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Shindo asked with a feral grin as he looked forwards to Sai knocking this sissy-named guy down a couple of pegs.

The End! ( For now... )


End file.
